Master Chief Pearson assumed the duties of Command Master Chief, Coast Guard Pacific Area on June 9, 2016. He serves as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for four Coast Guard Districts and is the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Pacific Area Commander for all Coast Guard missions from the Rocky Mountains to the waters off the East Coast of Africa. Prior to being selected for his current assignment, Master Chief Pearson served as the Command Master Chief for the Fifth Coast Guard District in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Master Chief Pearson dropped out of high school and joined the Army as an Infantryman in 1984 at the age of 17. Following successful assignments in Schweinfurt, West Germany and Fort Hood, Texas, he was honorably discharged and joined the Coast Guard in 1991 as a Quartermaster. He served aboard the Coast Guard Cutters IRIS, MUSTANG, BASSWOOD, and SASSAFRAS, and was a Search & Rescue Controller and Command Center Supervisor at the Marianas Section on Guam. In 2003 Master Chief became an Operations Specialist, and in 2007 he was selected to be one of the first three Coast Guard Intelligence Specialists. As the first Intelligence Specialist (IS) Rating Knowledge Manager at Training Center Yorktown, VA, he helped stand up the Coast Guard’s IS “A” School. Between 2012-2013 he served as the Command Master Chief for Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia in Bahrain.
Master Chief Pearson is a graduate of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Academy (Class 87), the Coast Guard Senior Enlisted Leadership Course, and the National Defense University’s Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education (SEJPME) and Command Senior Enlisted Leader - KEYSTONE Course. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Idaho State University, a Master of Arts degree in Military Studies from American Military University, and a Master of Science degree from Florida State University in Instructional Systems.
Master Chief Pearson’s awards include four Meritorious Service Medals, the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, two Coast Guard Achievement Medals, two Commandant’s Letters of Commendation, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. He has also earned a permanent Cutterman insignia.